Dao Companion Crippled, Coveters Move

Chapter 190 - 189: Bei Lingyin, Descendant of the Rakshasa Race

Qing Yueqiu's sword cut through the biting frost, her dancing figure as nimble and ethereal as a sprite in the snow.

But her Swordsmanship at this moment lacked the Sword Rhythm Pei Yuhang so often spoke of. It was just a series of crude hacks, slashes, and thrusts. Her Sword Qi tore through the frigid wind, unleashing the fiery rage she had bottled up inside.

This was a habit Qing Yueqiu had formed. Whenever she was in a foul mood, she would practice her sword to vent, forgetting every form she had ever learned. Relying purely on instinct, she slashed with abandon, imbued with the resolve to kill every snowflake that crossed her path.

In that moment, her sword radiated an Evil Qi she had never known she possessed. Even the Moonlight Essence on the surface of the Luminous Shadow Sword was tainted by this aura, taking on a faint red hue.

Qing Yueqiu realized she seemed to possess an innate talent that had yet to be unearthed—a talent for slaughter.

'But was it a talent she had failed to unearth, or had she deliberately suppressed it after meeting her master, actively forgetting it so he wouldn't despise her...?' It was hard for her to remember her original intentions anymore.

Sometimes, Qing Yueqiu would wonder. 'If Master hadn't met me when I was at my most vulnerable, but instead had encountered the regular me—the one who killed indiscriminately, as ferocious as a wolf—would he still have taken pity on me? Would he still have brought me back to the Sect?'

'Probably not.'

After all, the person she was back then, walking through a world of "great famine, where man eats man," was so ferocious that even she shuddered to remember it.

'Not the least bit endearing. The kind of person you'd want to stay far away from.'

'How could that version of me possibly have inspired Master's compassion and made him take me away?'

Those memories of a savage, primitive life were something Qing Yueqiu wanted to forget forever.

Because that was not the kind of upbringing a Female Cultivator of the Righteous Dao should have. A proper Female Cultivator should be raised like a well-bred young lady, learning the four arts to cultivate her character... not plunging a knife into beasts disguised as men.

WHOOSH—

Her savage, cathartic dance of the sword, filled with Killing Intent, came to an end.

Qing Yueqiu's fair, delicate skin glowed with a translucent rosy hue from the rapid blood flow. Billowing heat radiated from her pores, meeting the frigid air and frost to condense into an ethereal white mist that swirled around her.

Just as Qing Yueqiu was preparing to return to her room to bathe and once again become the Sword Immortal's cold, dignified head disciple, she heard the crunch of snow behind her.

"I never thought I'd actually find a descendant of the Rakshasa Race here... Though for some reason, your bloodline's power hasn't fully developed, so you can't manifest your race's true talents at all."

The completely unfamiliar voice made Qing Yueqiu's gaze turn sharp.

She quickly created some distance, warily eyeing the woman behind her.

Her expression faltered when her gaze landed on the woman's hair—it was the exact same shade of silver as her own.

It was the first time she had ever met someone with the same hair color. An inexplicable sense of kinship caused her tight grip on her sword hilt to loosen slightly.

"Don't be nervous, sister. The Rakshasa Race is nearly extinct. For all we know, you and I are the only kin we'll find in this lifetime. We should stick together."

"Let me introduce myself. I am Bei Lingyin."

"If you want to become stronger, I can help you awaken the power deep within your bloodline."

...

...

"Sword Immortal Pei!"

"Why do you turn and leave the second you see me? Do you dislike me that much? I'm Sister Liyuan's dear friend, Sister Ji, you know~"

Pei Yuhang had just managed to send away the easily placated Qing Yueqiu, only to be immediately cornered by this far more troublesome little vixen.

Pei Yuhang was already distraught over his disastrous romantic entanglement with his senior sister. Upon seeing Ji Xichan—a youthful version of the Business Saintess—he was in no mood to be pleasant.

"Ji Xichan, I'm contacting Chen Tiansheng in the next two days. You should go pack your things and get ready to leave."

Pei Yuhang's words instantly wiped the playful smirk from Ji Xichan's face.

"Pei Yuhang, what's that supposed to mean?!"

"It means exactly what it sounds like. I just don't want to see you anymore."

Pei Yuhang walked straight past Ji Xichan, not wanting to waste another word on her.

Facing Sword Immortal Pei's cold indifference, Ji Xichan seethed, clenching her jaw. She took a quick step, her small feet clad in thin black silk socks, and angrily blocked his path.

"Pei Yuhang, what right do you have to kick me out?!"

"Aren't you afraid I'll kill myself right in front of you? Don't forget, the life of that cute little disciple of yours is tied to mine. If I die, she won't live either!"

"..."

Pei Yuhang stared silently at Ji Xichan, whose eyes were rimmed with red. The vicious glint in them was no act; he didn't dare gamble with the lives of Yu Gu Nan and Yu Xiaoyan.

'This helpless feeling of being coerced again... Dammit. She's just a slip of a girl who hasn't even fully grown.'

Seeing Pei Yuhang's silence, Ji Xichan knew she didn't have to leave.

A smirk played on her lips as she took a step forward, pressing her body against his.

Her nimble little foot slipped free from its shoe and began to brush against his ankle like a kitten's tail.

"Sword Immortal Pei, isn't it so much better when we're all getting along? We don't have to make things so tense, like just now. That would be far too unpleasant."

"Is that so? I got the feeling you were thoroughly enjoying yourself while you were threatening me."

"You always resist when I threaten you, Sword Immortal Pei, but don't you secretly find it thrilling? You may not admit it, but your body can't lie to me."

Ji Xichan's pretty eyes drifted downward. A smirk revealed her cute little canine teeth.

Pei Yuhang's face flushed. He pushed Ji Xichan away and said sternly,

"That's not what I truly want!"

Ji Xichan rocked with laughter. She took Pei Yuhang's hand and said, "Oh, my dear Sword Immortal Pei, don't pretend to be so proper in front of me. We know each other inside and out. I'd wager even Sister Liyuan doesn't know you as well as I do~"

"Who said we know each other inside and out?"

Pei Yuhang shook her hand off, but she stuck to him again like glue.

"Sword Immortal Pei, I heard you went to see the Saintess of the Yin Yang Sacred Land yesterday. I've heard many people say that she's the Divinity Transformation of a god of lust, a beauty without peer. They say even the hardest stone would melt before her charms."

Listening to Ji Xichan's description, Pei Yuhang's mind once again conjured the image of Shang Miaoyan from the day before—her long, narrow tongue flicking like a snake's, the very picture of a wanton woman...

'She's a fiend of pure lust, nothing like the divine figure from the rumors.'

"What's your point?"

Pei Yuhang knew Ji Xichan's personality. After such a long wind-up, she certainly wasn't just trying to praise a Shang Miaoyan she had never even met.

"Sword Immortal Pei, between me and that Saintess... who do you think is prettier?"

Ji Xichan blinked slyly, looking just like a little fox.